This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Shaft assemblies, such as driveshafts or propshafts, may exhibit an out-of-balance condition when rotated. Typically, balance or counter weights are welded to a shaft member of a shaft assembly to correct the out-of-balance condition. In some situations, the welding of balance weights to a shaft member can reduce the fatigue life of the shaft member. This may be particularly undesirable when the shaft member is formed from aluminum, as relatively thicker aluminum tubing, which is heavier and more costly, may be needed to offset the reduction in fatigue life that would occur when the balance weights were welded to the shaft member.
It has been suggested that an ultra-violet (UV) light curable adhesive be used to secure a balance weight to a shaft member. However, the UV light that is employed to cure the adhesive is typically only able to cure the adhesive that borders the perimeter of the balance weight and consequently, this approach is not able to cure a sufficient amount of the adhesive to secure the balance weight to the shaft member that would achieve a bond strength that meets our needs. As such, there remains a need in the art for an improved method for balancing a shaft assembly and a related balanced shaft assembly.